Police officer injured while chasing suspect

AUSTINTOWN -- A police officer was injured Sunday morning while chasing a Youngstown woman who had been arrested on charges of shoplifting, obstructing official business and possession of drug paraphernalia. Patrolman William Halase cut his elbows when he fell while chasing the woman through the emergency room at Northside Medical Center. He was later treated at Austintown Ambulatory Clinic. Halase caught the woman before she left the emergency room. The woman was taken to Northside after she was arrested at 1:20 a.m. Sunday at the Wal-Mart on Mahoning Avenue. She was accused of shoplifting socks, boxer shorts, T-shirts and children's clothing. She told police she was pregnant and had been injured in a scuffle with a Wal-Mart employee, reports say. Police said they found a suspected crack pipe when they searched the woman.